"The new album is now completed, we just received the finished mastered product from Antfarm Studios. And we have to admit we are mighty proud of the result. Expect a release in February next year, we will keep you updated on the release-dates etc. Next thing coming up now is photosessions with photographer Emile M. E. Ashley, while the cover artwork will be done by Jan Yrlund. Stay tuned!"

"These days we are going through the final preparations for our next album. The songs are all finished and recordings will start in Juli. The album will be recorded in Sound Suite Studios, France and Stargoth Studios, Norway. The mixing and mastering will take place in Antfarm Studios, Denmark with Tue Madsen. We are really excited about this new album and can't wait to share the new song material with all of you. The album will be complete in September, expect release early next year. We will keep you posted."

"Sirenia is finally ready to introduce their new female singer. Ailyn - Born 1982 in Barcelona, now settled in Granada, Spain. Ailyn has been strongly attached to music all her life, and began singing at an early age. Later on she studied singing at The School of Music Albéniz, and obtained singing lessons with several singing teachers around Spain. In the past she’s been singing and performing all kinds of styles and genres, but in 2004 she discovered the sounds of metal combined with atmospheric and classical elements, this style of music made a big impression and she knew right away in which direction she wanted to take her career. Sirenia has done pre-productions of several new songs and recognizes that Ailyn’s voice match perfectly with the new songmaterial. The band is very pleased to have Ailyn onboard and we all look forward to a future collaboration."

A three-minute trailer for the forthcoming "20 Years of Nuclear Blast" two-DVD set can be viewed below. Due on November 30 via Nuclear Blast, the collection — as the title implies — celebrates the 20th anniversary of the German metal label, featuring two DVDs with almost six hours' worth of footage, including 70 promotional clips and a four-part history of the label hosted by DESTRUCTION bassist/vocalist Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer.

The following clips can be found on the "20 Years of Nuclear Blast" two-DVD set:

Norwegian gothic metal band SIRENIA has launched a vocalist search following the recent departure of Danish singer Monika Pedersen due to "musical differences." "We are looking for a talented singer with experience, a cool image and a strong passion for music," the group says in a statement. "Someone who is willing to give the band a high priority for many years to come. Please send us a biography, some recent photos and an mp3/wma file of your voice. If you have your own MySpace site, send us the link."

All submissions should be sent to singer@sirenia.no.

SIRENIA's new album, "Nine Destinies and a Downfall", entered the German Media Control chart in March at position No. 54. The album was recorded at Jailhouse studios in Norway with engineer Hans Eidsgard and Soundsuite studios in France with Terje Refsnes and was mixed and mastered at Antfarm studios in Aarhus, Denmark with Tue Madsen.

Swedish progressive death metallers THERION have issued the following update:

"Due to musical disagreements singer Monika Pedersen and Sirenia has decided to part ways, here is Monika's statement:

"After much consideration I have chosen to leave Sirenia, but I will continue with music. The reason is, that we have too many musical differences, and I don’t feel like it’s the right band for me. I have had a great time in the band, lots of good experiences and only wish the best for the band in the future.

I want to send a big “Thank You” to all the fans for your support – you haven’t heard the last of me!"

As a result of these circumstances Sirenia will have to pull out of the planned European tour with Therion. The show in Athens will be postponed until may 2008. You have our apologies for this, Sirenia will be back on the road next year. We will use the coming months to find a new singer

SIRENIA, the Norwegian/Danish gothic metal band featuring former TRISTANIA guitarist/vocalist Morten Veland, has posted its video for the song "The Other Side" at YouTube.com. The clip was helmed by the renowed Serbian production company I-Code (DEATHSTARS, HAMMERFALL, BLIND GUARDIAN, SCAR SYMMETRY), which previously worked with the group on the "My Mind's Eye" video. More...

LEAVES' EYES have been confirmed to be the headliner of the Metal Female Voices Fest V, which is due to take place on October 20th, 2007 at Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium. According to the band the theme of their show will be "En Saga i Belgia", and it will be filmed for release on their forthcoming DVD.

DORO has now been confirmed to headline the festival pre-show on October 19th, also at the Oktoberhallen in Wieze, Belgium. Other acts scheduled to perform on the night include HOLY MOSES, DARZAMAT and DYLATH-LEEN

FINNTROLL has been confirmed for the tenth-anniversary edition of Germany's Summer Breeze festival, set to take place August 16-18, 2007 in Dinkelsbühl. The festival billing is shaping up as follows (in alphabetical order):

SIRENIA's video for the song "My Mind's Eye" has been posted online at YouTube.com. The track comes off the Norwegian/Danish group's upcoming CD, "Nine Destinies and a Downfall", due on February 26 via Nuclear Blast Records. The album was recorded at Jailhouse studios in Norway with engineer Hans Eidsgard and Soundsuite studios in France with Terje Refsnes and was mixed and mastered at Antfarm studios in Aarhus, Denmark with Tue Madsen. The cover artwork was designed by Anthony Clarkson. More...

Sirenia will release "Nine Destinies And A Downfall" through Nuclear Blast on February 23rd. Three songs from the album are now available for streaming at their official MySpace page. The songs on offer are 'My Mind's Eye', 'The Other Side' and 'Sundown'. Go to this location to check them out.

SIRENIA, the Norwegian gothic metal band featuring former TRISTANIA guitarist/vocalist Morten Veland, has finished mixing and mastering its new album, "Nine Destinies and a Downfall", due in early 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records.

"Nine Destinies and a Downfall" was recorded at Jailhouse studios in Norway with engineer Hans Eidsgard and Soundsuite studios in France with Terje Refsnes. The CD was mixed and mastered at Antfarm studios in Aarhus, Denmark with Tue Madsen. The cover artwork will be designed by Anthony Clarkson. More...

SIRENIA, the Norwegian gothic metal band featuring former TRISTANIA guitarist/vocalist Morten Veland, have announced the addition of 27-year-old Danish female singer Monika Pedersen to the group's ranks. "Monika has been dedicated to music all her life, and has loads of experience from from other bands, projects, choirs etc." the group write on their web site. "In addition, she has been working with several professional singing teachers in Luxemburg and Denmark. From now on she will have an important role in SIRENIA's music, and we all look forward to a future collaboration."

Pedersen joins SIRENIA as the replacement for Henriette Bordvik, who quit the band last September.

SIRENIA last year signed a new record deal with Nuclear Blast Records. The band have released two successful albums to date (2002's "At Sixes and Sevens" and 2004's "An Elixir for Existence") and in 2004 toured Europe with Tiamat, Pain and Theatre Of Tragedy.

Having been a staple in the gothic/metal/rock scene for years, the Norwegian band founded in early 2001 by former Tristania mastermind Marten Veland have released two successful albums to date ("At Sixes and Sevens" and "An Elixir for Existence") and recently toured Europe with Tiamat, Pain and Theatre of Tragedy.

Sirenia guitarist Morten Veland comments: "Sirenia are proud to have teamed up with Nuclear Blast. Together we will keep up the flame, and bring out the best music we could possibly offer for many years to come!"

Currently, the three main members of Sirenia - Morten Veland (guitars, growls), Henriette Bordvik (voices) and Jonathan Perez (drums, percussion) - are working on new material for their debüt on Nuclear Blast, as they write on their website:

The last couple of months have been spent on creating new songs alongside our touring-activity. We have tons of ideas to pick from and will most likely spend the next few months on perfecting the best of this material. All the songs are meant for our next full-lenght album that most likely will be out in the beginning of next year.

Freelance writer Bryan Reesman has submitted the following report to GRAMMY.com:

If the multi-platinum success of EVANESCENCE proved to narrow-minded rock jocks that female-fronted metal bands were viable, a fresh wave of melodic European headbangers should cement that affirmation, with their distinct blend of heavy guitars, symphonic underpinnings and soaring female vocals. Thanks to the breakthrough of "Fallen", like-minded groups that court gothic and classical influences are starting to find success on American shores.

"For quite a number of years we've personally loved that sound and tried to champion it," declares Marco Barbieri, president of the Century Family of labels that includes Century Media and Nuclear Blast. "We initially liked the European, gothic-inspired stuff that came out of some of the doom and death metal bands of the early '90s. When women started joining these bands, they made it that much more exciting and compelling."

Their sounds are quite distinct. NIGHTWISH blends gothic brooding with intense guitars and classical bombast. Their recent album, "Once", features orchestra, choir and a Native American flute player. LACUNA COIL play gothic-tinged heavy rock that invokes a more aggressive Evanescence (and they have been around much longer). LEAVES' EYES, lead by former THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine, serve up dreamy, medieval-style metal. All of these bands employ lush keyboards and often contrast their beautiful female singing with harsh male growls normally reserved for death metal. That latter concept may not sound commercial, but EVANESCENCE may have paved the way for its acceptance through the male rap-metal exchanges of "Bring Me To Life".

Odin Thompson, label manager for Napalm Records USA and Moribund Records, sees a basic appeal for these groups — they write great music." These bands bring that heavy edge but inject it with melody and arrangements that have been long lost from rock and roll ," he asserts. "They also offer light to the normally dark world of heavy metal, which makes them special amongst their peers." Thompson believes this subgenre has the potential for tremendous commercial success at a major label level, something Napalm has strongly believed in for years with acts like SINS OF THY BELOVED, TRISTANIA and SIRENIA.

"I'm sure the majors are probably working on their own [groups]," surmises Barbieri. "I feared that a lot of manufactured, female-fronted bands would be coming out after the first EVANESCENCE single. Thankfully we've been spared that from the corporations, and it's being done the right way. Those that have been doing it [awhile] are gaining presence and profile."

The most obvious example of such visibility is Italy's LACUNA COIL, whose two-year-old album "Comalies" scanned more than 200,000 units domestically, cracking the Billboard Top 200 for several weeks last year after extensive grassroots development on radio, video play on Fuse and MTV2, and tours with P.O.D. and Ozzfest.

SIRENIA, the Norwegian gothic metal band featuring former TRISTANIA guitarist/vocalist Morten Veland, have fulfilled their contractual obligations to the Napalm label and are currently in negotiations for a new record deal, according to a posting on the group's web site.

SIRENIA's most recent release was the "Sirenian Shores" EP, available now on Napalm Records. The band, who parted ways with guitarist/"clean" vocalist Kristian Gundersen last summer due to his commitments to his other groups, NEW BREED and ELUSIVE, completed a two-week European tour with TIAMAT, PAIN and THEATRE OF TRAGEDY last month.

This year, Metalunderground.com is figuratively handing out an award of its own for "Best Metal Album of The Year." Everyone else hands out "best of year" awards or lists, so why shouldn't we? Afterall, the staff here at metalunderground.com has very diverse tastes, and we know our metal. So this year I asked each of our writers to pick their top 5 albums of 2004 and rank them form 1 to 5. What I saw was a lot of different opinions, but among the differences, two albums rose to the top.

Without further ado...[drum roll, please]...the winner of Metalunderground.com's "Best Metal Album of The Year" honor for 2004 is: More...

Norwegian Gothic metallers SIRENIA have issued the following statement:

Jonathan [drums] does not have the possibility to join the up-coming European tour, but everyone can be assured that there is absolutely no need to worry. Roland Navratil(Edenbridge) will fill in on drums and the tour will go on just as planned, with full fucking power! We are looking forward to see you all there, in one town or another. Cheers!